The Auswine Forum

Just some tasting views, nothing detailed just didn't have the time.

The standouts were without doubt the brace of wines from Majella, the 02 Shiraz and the 02 Cabernet. They even outshone, in my humble opinion, the 01 "The Malleea". Another must buy for value was the S.Kidman riesling, we did a double-take when he told us it was $13 a bottle. Only available from the winery though, but you can simply order you don't have to be on their mailing list. The 02 Bowen Cabernet is another on my must buy list, but I will steer clear of the 01 which wasn't up to the 02. The 99 Limestone Ridge was also a ripper.

Notes below:

Bowen Estate:
01 Shiraz - VG+, good fruit
01 Cabernet - VG+, smooth, soft tannins, not big
02 Shiraz - VG+, good finish
02 Cabernet - E, well balanced, true varietal character, lighter body but loaded with fruit

Brand's of Coonawarra:
03 Riesling - G, a bit too much residual sugar
03 Chardonnay - VG, great nose but again a touch of unwanted sugar
00 Patron's Reserve - E, rich, opulent, well integrated, good stuff but pricey at $70
00 Stentiford's Reserve Old Vine Shiraz - E+, wow, smooth, rich sweetish raisony palate but not candied in any way, powerful, probably is worth the money also at $70
01 Shiraz - VG-, good QPR
02 Cabernet - VG, spicy, aromatic lifted nose

Riddoch:
03 Chardonnay - VG-
01 Cabernet - VG+, spicy, olives, capsicum
02 Shiraz - VG+, well rounded in the palate, nice

Katnook:
02 Chardonnay, VG-

Jamiesons Run:
00 McShanes Block Shiraz - VG-, good nose but doesn't quite finish
00 Winemakers Reserve Cabernet - VG, nicely rounded, solid tannin needs time to settle
01 Rothwell Cabernet - VG+, hard tannins, mouthfilling, good finish but not worth the $70 asking price
01 Winemakers Reserve Cab Shiraz - VG-, more fruit forward but not as balanced or rounded as the 00

Leconfield:
03 Chardonnay - G+, ok but a bit short, nothing special at all
04 Riesling - G+, fruity but not much else
01 Cabernet - VG-, shows good varietal characters
02 Merlot - VG, great nose but palate not quite the same otherwise could have been E
02 Shiraz - VG-, good fruit and all round palate
02 Sparkling Shiraz - G, closed, short, pass
03 Sparkling Shiraz - E-, what a difference one vintage makes! Powerful, mouthfilling, rich mousse, a must buy at $26.

Lindemans:
00 St George - E, great nose, well balanced, firm tannin so it needs more time but everything there in abundence
99 Pyrus - VG+, good fruit but doesn't finish too well, otherwise would have been E
99 Limestone Ridge - E+, complex nose, slightly reserved, great palate, smooth, balanced, yes please
(note the booklet shows all vintages as 2000 but this was incorrect)

Majella:
04 Riesling - VG, nicely rounded, fruit forward, nice citrus notes and good acid
01 "The Malleea" - E, smooth, rich and opulent, very nice indeed
02 Shiraz - O-, a true shiraz, touch of sweet berries, ripe, rich on the nose, great palate weight, mouthfilling and a very long finish, superb
02 Cabernet - O, wait it gets better...biggest most powerful nose of the night, but not just a powerhouse it was complex, lots going on, palate to match with great fruit power but lots of subtle things going on in the background, long long finish, the wine of the night by a long way apart from the Shiraz which was almost as good

Parker:
01 Terra Rossa First Growth - VG+, closed, reserved, seemed to be all there but wasn't prepared to give it up, have tried other vintages that were much better so perhaps in a few years it will start showing what it can really do
01 Terra Rossa Merlot - pass, good nose but died completely on the palate, perhaps mildly corked
02 Terra Rossa Cabernet - E-, this actually showed much better than its big brother

Redman:
00 Cab Merlot - G+, nothing wrong just uninteresting
01 Cabernet - VG-, solid but not up the company on the night really
01 Shiraz - VG-, ditto

S.Kidman:
03 Riesling - E, bargain of the night, best riesling by an arm and a leg and only $13! Clean, crisp, zesty, nice acid and plenty of fruit.

Wynns:
03 Riesling - VG, what you get every vintage from Wynns
99 John Riddoch Cabernet - E-, loaded with fruit, but a big tannic monster at the moment, in 15 years probably be outstanding
01 Black Label Cabernet - VG, did not excite, other vintages have been much better

Yalumba:
00 "The Menzies" Cabernet - E-, smooth, rich and well balanced, top stuff
01 Shiraz - E-, surprised how good this was, nice sweet berry fruit, long rounded finish, plenty of palate weight
01 Merlot - VG+, very different but very interesting, earthy, mushrooms, almost like a good Pinot (hey this was the end of the night so who knows???)

Zema Estate:
01 Cluny - VG-, earthy, quite sweet, interesting but not great
01 Shiraz - VG-
01 Cabernet - G+, nose a bit closed, nice red berry fruits but faded on the palate
01 Family Selection Cabernet - VG, a touch above the others but not by a big margin, no idea what (if any) the price premium is for this.

To be fair I have tried a Zema cabernet (not sure what vintage) and been a lot more impressed that this. Zema was the last winery we tried and I know my palate was suffering. However having said that we finished by going back and pinching some more of the two Majellas and we were still blown away by them so my palate obviously wasn't completely dead.

Apart from the noteable missing wineries, and very enjoyable evening and well worth the $25 entry fee. At $100 for the Sheraton Liquor Barons show I think I will stick to these types of show, just as good and a quarter of the price.

Paul, I think your TVs are fairly close to the general concensus we had amongst my group in Adelaide.

For me there were some excellent examples albeit quite a number a bit pricey. Wines to impress were

00 St.George, sheer class, a return to form
both 00 Brand's Reserves, these are always surprise packets
01 Jamieson's Rothwell, yet another label from these guys but v good
01 Majella Malleea & 02 Majella Cab, what more to be said about Majella?
00 Menzies is the best I've seen from them, exotic floral nose

Good show Coonawarra Vignerons, same again next year thanks

Being the self appointed driver of the night, I mainly went for the top end wines and “cherry picked” at some other wines.

Being relatively new at this sorta stuff, and finding it difficult to detect the wines aromas in public gathers with perfume and after shave wafting around you, I normally rate a wine by:
- Did I like it?
- Would I buy it?
- Is it balanced?
- Length of finish and how well the wine coats the palate
- Anything stand out that I didnÂ’t like

So please excuse my brief impressions.

Jamiesons Run
2001 Alexanders Block Cabernet Reserve – Not Bad. But could detect a slightly sour finish.
2001 Rothwell Cabernet – The first release of this flagship wine. The aromas jumped out the glass. Loved this one. But not sure if I’d pay about $80.

Katnook Estate
Tried the 2001 Cabernet, 2001 Merlot and 2002 Shiraz. Did not like these. Could not see what all the fuss is about this label.

Leconfield
2002 Merlot, 2002 & 2003 Sparkling Shiraz. Found the sparkling shiraz like lolly water with little structure. Like them “bigger”. Quickly scooted off to the next table.

Lindemans
2000 St George – Liked the tannic structure. Was drying. Good after taste.
1999 Limestone Ridge – Very Good. Sweet. Very well balanced.

Majella
2002 Majella Cabernet – Found this a bit greenish with an acid bite. Came back later for a second try and found it much better. Really enjoyed this!
2001 Malleea – Oh my goodness!!!! Great wine!

Parker – Bit disappointed at their showing. Was expecting more
Enjoyed the 2001 Merlot however.
The Cabernet and 1st Growth I found a bit too “twiggy”

Zema Estate
2001 Family Selection Cabernet – Outstanding wine.


Favourites for the night were the Zema Family Selection and Malleea

Overall a very well organised night and I prefer coming to paid night like these as you don't get the "free loaders" there